A little known US comedian has gone viral for mocking an Australian tourist advertisement featuring two Aboriginal men.
David Bronstein posted the video to TikTok on June 27. It has since garnered over 51,000 views and more than 1,000 comments.
It features Mr Bronstein disparaging the large advertisement outside of a private travel business in Toronto, Canada.
The advertisement is a Tourist Australia campaign featuring renowned brothers, Reggie and Cassidy Uluru.
After exposing an old clip in which South African comedian Trevor Noah makes fun of the appearance of Aboriginal women, ex-NRL player Joe Williams has urged him to apologise.
The pair are seated by a campfire on their traditional Country, in the shadow of Uluru, with the words ‘Don’t go small, go Australia’ above them.
“You see this sign, don’t go small, go to Australia?” Mr Bronstein mocked.
“Are these two… going to entice you to go to Australia? To meet these two guys?
“And is this Hugh Jackman, because he’s from Australia?”
‘Ignorant and insulting’
Users responded by filling Mr Bronstein’s comments with messages of support for the advertisement and the Uluru brothers.
“It would be a privilege and an honour to be in the company of two lovely Elders,” said one.
“Those 2 gentlemen represent the oldest continuous cultural practices on the planet, over 60,000 years,” said another.
Many called out Mr Bronstein for his display of disrespect, and said that the invitation to Australia “does not extend to you”.
From nude photographs, dirty campsites and unhygienic toilet use, mayors say the tourist trade is spreading havoc across Queensland and Torres Strait communities.
Mr Bronstein defended his video to Daily Mail Australia saying Tourism Australia should sell “fun and happy emotions”.
“The two guys sitting on a rock both look miserable. Who would want to go to Australia and be miserable?” he said.
But social media users were of a different opinion. Mr Bronstein was called out for his offensive behaviour, with users describing it as “insulting” and “ignorant”.
“The casual racism is strong with this one,” posted one user.
“Unfortunately David thinks that Oz is just like Crocodile Dundee. David is ignorant, don’t be like David,” said another.
The heckler was sentenced to a decade away from the game and must complete cultural awareness training prior to rejoining the league.
“Just honestly why? What would you prefer our posters have, let me guess – young white women in bikinis and Hugh Jackman In RMs?” one user posted, alongside an eye-roll emoji.
“Well you see, if you’re the kind of person who wouldn’t come to Australia after seeing this, then the ad is working.”
The advertisement is part of the $40 million ‘Don’t Go Small. Go Australia’ campaign launched in February by Tourism Australia.
The campaign was rolled out into the United States and the United Kingdom to entice international tourists back to Australia after COVID-19 restricted travel opportunities.
NITV has contacted Tourism Australia for comment.
